1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to stringed musical instruments and, more particularly, to a material and method for constructing amplified solid body stringed musical instruments such as electric guitars.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronic amplification of musical instruments has lead to the emergence and current importance of solid body stringed instruments. Most notable among solid body stringed instruments are electric guitars. Solid body electronic guitars are now well known and understood and can be found fabricated from a variety of material using a variety of construction techniques.
Having a history that is short relative to their acoustic cousins, efforts to discover improved materials and methods for construction of amplified solid body stringed instruments are ongoing. Not surprisingly, therefore, electric guitars have been the subject of a number of recent improvements and patents covering the same.
Ideally, materials employed in the construction of solid body stringed instruments should have characteristics for strength, tonal quality, dependability and aesthetic appearance. Strength is necessary to enable the instrument body to counterbalance forces resulting from highly tensioned strings. The material must also be suitable for anchoring screws which secure the tensioned components to the instrument body. Tonal quality is an obvious goal of all musical instruments, and aesthetic appearance holds importance to the instruments owner as well as to the image that is projected whenever the instrument is demonstrated or performed.
Solid body instruments fabricated from certain woods have been found to produce better quality sounds over a wider range of tones than instruments fabricated from other woods and from synthetic materials. Certain hardwoods like ash, although strong and aesthetically pleasing in a finished state, lack tonal quality and produce a dull sound when used in solid guitar bodies. Recognized preferred woods, sometimes referred to in the industry as tone woods, include Honduras mahogany, alder, basswood, korina and swamp ash. These woods produce better quality sounds which are distinctive and vary in quality over the range of pitches. Solid body guitars fabricated from alder, for example, produce a brighter sound as compared with solid body guitars fabricated from mahogany.
It has also been noted that solid body stringed instruments capable of producing a pleasing tonal quality when played acoustically, as do tone woods, generally also produce attractive sounds when amplified. Solid bodies made of woods which produce poor quality sound unamplified generally also lack tonal quality when the sound is electrified.
One recognized drawback of solid body stringed instruments is their weight. While hardwoods exhibit the requisite tensile strength and, some, pleasing tonal qualities, the completed instrument is significantly heavier than its hollow body counterpart causing the musician discomfort and early fatigue during practice sessions, recitals and performances.
Prior art patents attempting to address the weight problem teach solid body guitars having composite construction that include, for example, a softwood such as balsa or a synthetic such as foam. While offering a light weight alternative, use of the composites body construction can compromise sound quality as sound waves degrade and lose coincidence as they traverse materials having different density. Composite construction also increases the complexity, and consequent cost, of the finished product.